Micro-aspects of democratic theory: what makes for the deliberative competence of citizens ? (1997)

2019 ◽  
pp. 303-325
Author(s):  
Claus Offe
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory

Between Specters of War and Visions of Peace

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Mara
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Democracies

This book examines how ideas of war and peace have functioned as organizing frames of reference within the history of political theory. It interprets ten widely read figures in that history within five thematically focused chapters that pair (in order) Schmitt and Derrida, Aquinas and Machiavelli, Hobbes and Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche, and Thucydides and Plato. The book’s substantive argument is that attempts to establish either war or peace as dominant intellectual perspectives obscure too much of political life. The book argues for a style of political theory committed more to questioning than to closure. It challenges two powerful currents in contemporary political philosophy: the verdict that premodern or metaphysical texts cannot speak to modern and postmodern societies, and the insistence that all forms of political theory be some form of democratic theory. What is offered instead is a nontraditional defense of the tradition and a democratic justification for moving beyond democratic theory. Though the book avoids any attempt to show the immediate relevance of these interpretations to current politics, its impetus stems very much from the current political circumstances. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century , a series of wars has eroded confidence in the progressively peaceful character of international relations; citizens of the Western democracies are being warned repeatedly about the threats posed within a dangerous world. In this turbulent context, democratic citizens must think more critically about the actions their governments undertake. The texts interpreted here are valuable resources for such critical thinking.

Following Leaders

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Goodin ◽  
Kai Spiekermann
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Independence Assumption ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Single Opinion

The question of leadership is connected to many central debates in democratic theory. In this chapter, the focus is on leadership in terms of beliefs, not desires. Opinion leaders’ influence undermines the Independence Assumption. The first section looks at single opinion leaders, who, if their influence is strong and their competence limited, reduce group competence, often severely. The second section considers multiple correlated opinion leaders. The effects depend on the negative or positive correlation between the opinion leaders, the number of voters following each, and the competence of leaders. Multiple uncorrelated opinion leaders are the topic of the third section. Their influence can be relatively benign if they are many and if they are reasonably competent. Finally, a great many ‘local’ opinion leaders, as envisaged by Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet, can offset the negative epistemic impact of a few ‘big’ opinion leaders.

Democratic Theory and Socialism.Frank Cunningham

Ethics ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 678-679
Author(s):  
David Schweigkart
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory

On the Logic of Being a Democrat

Philosophy ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (167) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin Schiller
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Central Purpose

The central purpose of this paper is to sketch the logic of being a democrat. That is, what is involved in being a democrat will be defined and delineated. I shall proceed by first examining Richard Wollheim's alleged paradox of democratic theory. Wollheim's solution to the paradox will then be shown to be unsatisfactory. Next, the concept of being a democrat will be clarified. The stage will then be set for showing that Wollheim's alleged paradox of democratic theory dissolves upon discerning what a democrat qua democrat is committed to believe. In the process of clarifying what is involved in being a democrat and dissolving the alleged paradox of democratic theory, it will become evident that one popular argument often levelled against resistance to democratic law is without foundation. This is the argument that any democrat who conscientiously disobeys valid democratic law is necessarily behaving inconsistently with his democratic principles; and, therefore, if someone does conscientiously disobey valid democratic law, it proves he is not ‘really’ a democrat after all.

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